As Shakespeare famously wrote, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet," but can the same be said for a state? In this elementary geography lesson, learners are assigned specific states to research using the information...

Students write a persuasive letter to the government of an African country that has elephants as a resource. Students research and debate the pros and cons of ivory use. Students identify the value of ivory products versus the lives of...

Third graders listen to the history of Wilbur West, a World War II veteren. They discuss how he is an important piece of history. They write a persuasive essay on the importance of Veteren's Day.

Running an election campaign takes money. Class groups must effectively budget money in order to design and purchase sufficient advertising aimed at procuring classmates' votes. After completing an online tutorial, they also write and...

Learners figure out and discuss the irony of this coin-centric poem. They also practice persuasive letter writing, and identify and count coin/money values.

Third graders explore how to write the five-paragraph essay.

Students investigate equality by reading a historical fiction book in class.  In this civil rights lesson, students read the story Roll of Thunder, Hear my Cry with their classmates and define the Jim Crow Laws that kept blacks...

Students explore the environment by writing a persuasive letter. In this global warming lesson plan, students identify the key problems with our energy consumption in the United States. Students complete worksheets and write a letter...

Students research African-American participation in the Civil War. In this Civil War lesson, students read the article "Fighting Rebels with Only One Hand" and write a persuasive paragraph on whether the participation of the...

Oral history has brought a multitude of lessons, stories, and factoids to our current knowledge of the past. Let us continue to use oral history traditions through a lesson that encourages pupils to discover and appreciate...

Students act out a section of the book Gentle Annie that is depicted in Chapter 4. They discuss the character position taken by each of the characters in the scene. They write a persuasive letter to one of the characters.

Students engage in a lesson plan about the a proposal for a sanctuary in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. They write a letter to the President of The United States in opposition to the proposal based upon classroom activities and...

Students use web technology to investigate ancient Greece and the Olympic Games. They explore the history of the Olympics. Students make connections between Greek and English. They make and record a persuasive speech and write a...

Third graders complete several activities in their quest to find out about the addition of fluoride to city water. First, they create a guide sheet to help organize notes. The next two steps involve taking notes through guided practice....

Students examine the impact of treaties on the Yakama nation. They discover the importance of land and how they felt when their land was taken away. They role-play the positions of both the Yakama and citizens of the United States.

Third graders use a hypothetical story in order to create a context for the lesson plan. The story presents a problem that needs to be solved. They write a letter to a government official as part of the lesson plan.

Students examine the financial committment to running a campaign. They discuss the difference between electroal and popular votes. They realize how involved a political campaign is!

Students create an effective classification and counter argument.  In this counter-argument activity, students decide upon a label for at least three types of people and then describe their groups.  Students describe three...

Students create a thematic booklet containing examples of different types of expository text structures. They explore a variety of expository text structures.

Third graders identify key concepts and definitions about tornados. They work in small groups of three to four to create mini-tornados. After reading Tornado Alert as a class, 3rd graders discuss tornados and fill out a KWL chart.

This site is extremely informative for teaching children the value of saving money. "You will write a persuasive letter telling why people use savings bonds as a way to save their money."

A post-assessment at the end of a unit on global atmospheric change. Students write persuasive letters about an issue related to it, e.g., the greenhouse effect or ozone loss. The letters encourage the recipient to protect the atmosphere...